A list becomes harder to follow when its parts change grammatical shape unexpectedly. “The course helps learners plan essays, reviewing drafts and to practise vocabulary” contains useful ideas, but the items do not fit the shared opening smoothly.
The parallel-structure chapter in Jobin Thomas’s IELTS Writing Grammar Accelerator explains how matching forms can improve lists and comparisons. This guide uses original examples and a simple checking method you can apply to your own paragraphs.
Find the words that introduce the list
In “The course helps learners…”, each item needs to fit what follows that opening. “Plan essays,” “review drafts” and “practise vocabulary” all work: “The course helps learners plan essays, review drafts and practise vocabulary.”
Read each item separately with the opening. If one produces an awkward or incomplete construction, check whether its form needs to change. This is often easier than trying to diagnose the whole sentence at once.
Match actions with actions and descriptions with descriptions
Original parallel-structure practice
Draft: “The workshop was useful, practical and gave encouragement.”
Revision: “The workshop was useful, practical and encouraging.”
Draft: “The learner enjoys reading articles, discussing ideas and to write summaries.”
Revision: “The learner enjoys reading articles, discussing ideas and writing summaries.”
The revisions keep the list within one grammatical pattern rather than making the reader change structures midway.
Position paired expressions carefully
Expressions such as “both…and” and “not only…but also” draw attention to a pair. Place them so that the elements they introduce match: “The task develops both accuracy and confidence” pairs two nouns.
Compare “The learner not only revised the essay but also checked the examples,” which pairs two verb phrases. You do not need a paired expression in every sentence; use one when the emphasis helps express your meaning.
Repair the list
Draft: “The plan aims to reduce costs, improving access and make booking easier.”
Possible revision: “The plan aims to reduce costs, improve access and make booking easier.”
The shared “to” introduces three matching verb phrases: reduce, improve and make. Repeating “to” before each is also possible, but it is not necessary here.
Compare equivalent things
Check meaning as well as grammar. “The cost of the online course is lower than the classroom course” appears to compare a cost with a course. “The online course costs less than the classroom course” makes the comparison clearer.
You can also write “The cost of the online course is lower than that of the classroom course.” Choose a structure that is accurate and natural for your sentence rather than automatically choosing the longer version.
Do not overcorrect shared words
A preposition can apply to a coordinated phrase: “in towns and villages” is complete. You do not always need to repeat it. The useful test is whether the shared word applies clearly and grammatically to every relevant element.
In your next writing review, underline lists and paired expressions. Read each item with the shared opening, then check that the comparison or grouping makes sense. Keep one corrected sentence as a pattern for fresh practice.
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Source: IELTS GR 100.epub, Jobins Training. Examples labelled original or illustrative were written for this article. Independent exam preparation; no affiliation with or endorsement by the examining body. Practice does not predict an official score.